Ear training is learning to recognize what you hear: knowing that a leap is a perfect 5th, that a chord is minor, that a melody just stepped down a 3rd. It's what lets you play songs by ear, sing in tune with a band and improvise with confidence. This ear training drill runs the classic exercise from aural skills classes, with instant feedback and as many repeats as you want.
The sound is generated by your browser, with no download and no account. Every answer feeds the stats for each interval and each chord, stored only on your device, so you can see where you miss most and what to drill next. Preparing for an aural exam? Intervals and chords are the core of it.
How to use it
- Choose Intervals or Chords and a level. On easy you get the easiest intervals to hear (major 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th and octave) and only major and minor chords.
- For intervals, choose the direction: ascending, descending, harmonic (both notes at once) or mixed, the closest to real music.
- Tap Play, listen and pick your answer. You can press keys 1 to 9 to answer and Enter for the next one.
- The right answer turns green; if you missed, yours turns red and, with “show notes” on, you see the notes that were played.
- Use Hear it again as often as you like: the goal is to learn, not to guess. “Accuracy by item” shows your rate on each one.
How to hear intervals: reference songs
The classic trick is to link each interval to the opening of a song you know. Ascending: minor 2nd, the Jaws theme; major 2nd, “Happy Birthday” (“hap-py birth-day”); minor 3rd, “Greensleeves”; major 3rd, “When the Saints Go Marching In”; perfect 4th, “Here Comes the Bride”; perfect 5th, the Star Wars main title; minor 6th, “The Entertainer” (right after the pickup); major 6th, “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean”; minor 7th, “Somewhere” from West Side Story (“There's a place for us”); octave, “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. Over time you drop the songs and recognize the interval directly.
Chords: what to listen for
Between major and minor, the difference is the 3rd, the middle note: in a minor chord it sits a half step lower and the sound gets darker. A diminished chord also lowers the 5th and sounds tense, with nowhere to rest; an augmented chord raises the 5th and sounds suspended, unresolved. Seventh chords add a fourth note: the dominant 7th wants to resolve (it's the “heading home” chord), the major 7th sounds soft and dreamy, and the minor 7th is the mellow sound of jazz, bossa nova and neo-soul. The drill plays each chord arpeggiated, then as a block.
How much to practice
Ten minutes a day beats an hour once a week. Stay on easy until you're above 80% correct, move up to medium and only then go to hard, where the tritone, the minor 6th, the minor 7th and the seventh chords come in. If an item turns red in your stats, drill it back to back with Hear it again, against a neighbor you already know (major 3rd vs. minor 3rd).
Tips
- Sing the interval before you answer: your voice helps your ear measure the distance.
- Practice with headphones at a moderate volume; on a small phone speaker the low notes disappear.
- When torn between two neighboring intervals, think of each one's reference song and see which one “fits”.
- If you sing in a choir or a band, focus on 3rds and 6ths, the intervals of harmony parts.
- Reset your stats now and then to measure your real progress, not your old average.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know music theory?
No. Interval and chord names are on the buttons and, right or wrong, you see the notes that were played. The theory sinks in through your ears.
How do I train my ear to identify intervals?
Start with a few intervals that sound very different, link each to a reference song and practice a little every day. Train ascending and descending (one note after the other, like a melody) and harmonic (both together, like harmony): music uses all three.
What is a tritone?
It's the interval of three whole steps (an augmented 4th or a diminished 5th), the most tense one inside the octave. You hear it at the start of “Maria” from West Side Story and of The Simpsons theme.
What is the difference between relative pitch and perfect pitch?
Relative pitch is recognizing the distance between notes, like intervals and chord qualities: that's what this drill trains. Perfect pitch is naming a note with no reference at all; it's rare, and relative pitch matters far more for playing by ear.
Are my stats saved?
Yes, on your device (the browser's local storage), with no account. They are erased if you clear the site's data or use the reset button.
Can I practice scales and chord progressions?
Not yet. For now the drill covers intervals within the octave and seven chord types, which are the foundation; scales and progressions are on the roadmap.
Will ear training help me sing in tune and play by ear?
Yes: singing in tune means hitting the intervals of the melody, and playing by ear means recognizing them. Pair this drill with the pitch matching game, which measures how accurately you sing.